WHEREAS, The National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) was enacted in 1935 by Congress and signed into law by President Franklin D. Roosevelt to help equalize the power between employers and workers by legally protecting the right of private sector workers to organize and form unions, engage in collective bargaining and take certain actions to promote and protect their rights; and

WHEREAS, The freedom to form or join a union is internationally recognized by the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights as a fundamental human right; and

WHEREAS, according to the 2000 Human Rights Watch Report, worker rights to form and join unions are increasingly eroded in the United States by the failure of federal labor laws to provide adequate, timely, and just remedies for violations; and

WHEREAS, Unions help raise workers' pay and narrow the income gap for minorities and women, by increasing median weekly earnings by thirty- one percent for unionized women workers, thirty-six percent for African-American workers, forty-six percent for Latino workers, and eight percent for Asian-American workers; and

WHEREAS, H.R 800 and S 1041 will amend the NLRA and strengthen worker's rights by: 1) streamlining union certification by requiring union certification when a majority of employees provide authorizing signatures eliminating the time and cost of an election; 2) facilitating initial collective bargaining agreements by requiring mediation and then arbitration if an employer and union are unable to bargain their first contract within 90 days; 3) strengthening enforcement by providing stronger penalties for employer violations during a union organizing drive or first contract negotiation; and

WHEREAS, H.R. 800 was introduced by Representative Miller with 233 co-sponsors and S. 1041 was introduced by Senator Kennedy with 46 co- sponsors; and

WHEREAS, the M L King County Labor Council, AFL-CIO and King County Council support the Employee Free Choice Act;

NOW THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SEATTLE, THE MAYOR CONCURRING:

Section 1: The Seattle City Council and the Mayor of Seattle respectfully urge the United States Congress to enact the Employee Free Choice Act, H.R. 800 or S. 1041.